Since we’re doing our best to get our stories down, amid the madness of work and home and school, it can be challenging to find enough time to read as well. So, how do you add more books to your day, your week, your month, your year?

The reality is, however, that we can contemplate and research and dream up the ultimate epic for the rest of our lives, and the first draft still won’t be perfect. But you still need a first draft to get to the perfect story below, so how do you get started?

It’s not glamorous, not yet. I work too hard and I’m stressed about deadlines, but I don’t go into an office, I don’t dress up every day, I don’t have a thankless position somewhere. I’m my own boss, I set my own office hours and I write for a living.